Highest tides in 23 years damage crops, aquaculture ponds

The highest tides in 23 years have damaged crops and aqua culture ponds on the southernmost Ca Mau Peninsula.

Ca Mau Province’s Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre director Tran Tien Dung said high tides and heavy rain had swollen waters in coastal Nam Can District to 1.54 metres and 86 cm in Ca Mau City.

The province’s Agriculture and Rural Development reports that sea water surged over dykes in the Dam Doi, Nam Can, Ngoc Hien, Phu Tan districts destroying more than 3,000 ha of shrimp and fish ponds.

About 5,000 ha of rice paddy and plantation was also flooded in the Thoi Binh, U Minh and Tran Van Thoi districts.

High tides from October to the middle of this month have damaged more than 15,800 ha and caused damage estimated at VND4.1 billion (US$210,000), reports provincial Irrigation Department director Nguyen Long Hoai.

Three days of high tides and heavy rain has also damaged 53,000 ha of farm land in neighbouring Bac Lieu province.

The province could lose 13,000 ha if the high tides continue, warns the provincial agriculture department.

The high tides, which are expected to continue until this weekend, submerged most of Nga Nam in Soc Trang Province.

The 1.6-million-ha peninsular Ca Mau Peninsular, on the southern tip of Viet Nam, includes Can Tho City and Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces as well as part of Kien Giang. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam agriculture

Posted by VBN on Nov 23 2010. Filed under Agriculture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry